Along with malachite, Lapis Lazuli is one of the first treasured stones of human kind, and has been mined for over 7,000 years. Its name stems from the Latin word "lapis" meaning stone and from the Arabic word "azula" meaning blue. This treasured blue stone can be found throughout many ancient civilizations. Before a synthetic substitute was created, it was often ground and used as a pigment, making blue paint, "Ultramarine" the most expensive and valuable paint available. For this reason, blue paint was most often reserved for royalty and holy figures such as the Madonna. Much of the worlds Lapis Lazuli is mined from mountains in northern Afghanistan.

Small gemstone chips are both popular and versatile. Their convenient size makes them easy to work with, and useful in a wide variety of designs. You can use them as a subtle color accent or base your entire design upon them. Their natural organic shape makes them a great partner for beads like precious metal rounds or metallic seed beads. Carnelian, also known as Cornelian is an A grade agate, a variety of Chalcedony quartz, the crystals of these types of quartz are microscopic, other forms of Chalcedony quartz include Onyx and Jasper. The orange to red tones of Carnelian are due to iron oxides within the crystal. Most of today's Carnelian is heat treated to enhance the color. Crystal healers recommend Carnelian for memory and digestive issues. Carnelian was one of the twelve gems of Jerusalem.